“There has been a lot of speculation about possible candidates for this role, and I want it to be known that I will not be putting my name forward,” he said.

Under Duncan’s two-year leadership, C4 is performing strongly in most areas, and he may well have set his sights on securing the bigger prize of running the BBC. He worked at the Beeb before C4, helping to mastermind the successful U.K. digital terrestrial service Freeview.

These developments leave the field open for other potential candidates: Dawn Airey, BSkyB managing director of channels and services, who has worked for all the U.K.’s commercial terrestrial webs; and Stephen Carter, former head of communications regulator Ofcom.